Where to live

[Tomkat]

This thread is aimed at people who know London quite well, and/or who live there.

I intend to move out of the place I'm staying in the next month or so (so early October).

My school is in Purley, which is remarkably good for travel (I thought it would be worse).

I'm not sure where to move to though.

I need:
Somewhere commutable to and from Purley (45 minute journey max)
Somewhere with a decent social atmosphere
Somewhere where I'm not likely to be stabbed (which rules out Croydon)

I'm probably going to house/flat sharing, and use the internet to find people.

The areas I'm looking at are:

Tooting - I'd never really heard of this place until a day or so ago, but noticed it has a direct bus route into Purley (from Tooting Broadway), and seems to be quite close to Clapham on the tube. Anyone know what it's like?

Streatham (Common) - Again, I've never been here, and don't know much about it. The word "Common" makes it sound kind of nice though, or is it deceitful? It again has a direct bus route to Purley.

Purley - This place seems to be a bit too expensive, considering it isn't central London. It doesn't seem particularly exciting either. On the upside, getting into and out of London is not difficult, there are trains very often from Victoria, even in the wee hours of the mornnig. Also, my school is here.

Clapham - My original favourite. Some of my friends are going to be moving here hopefully, which is another incentive.The downside is that it seems to be the most expensive of the places I want to live, plus it will have the longest commuting time. On the upside, it seems to be a pretty cool, and relatively safe, place to live.


Can anyone give me a few pointers or words of wisdom, please? Thanks

[skiddy]

I may be getting a job at a school in Croydon and living in Bromley.

Related info.

Etc.

Yeah, who said I'm not?

[Tomkat]

I don't even know where Bromley is

[Yahwe]

if you want to enjoy central london you really need a tube connection.

the train connection to victoria is less appealing (i've actually lived where i had to rely on one and frankly it is a pain in the arse and victoria is a bloody awful station - esp when you forget to renew your travel card and you need to buy a ticket in a hurry)

the obvious thing for laziness is purley. but i have no doubt that if you do that you'll find yourself utterly bored socially, it might be better if you were in a relationship but i'd still think of it as a living death.

cla'ham is relatively expensive but has the night life (and depening on where you are the tube and train) you couldn't ask for a better station than clapham junction. it's also 'cabbable' for when you are a little richer.

tooting isn't very exciting. but you do get the tube.

have you thought about stockwell? then you'd get 2 tube lines (which is unbelievably better than one - they close, trust me.) the area's cheaper than clapham but bang next door and you could tube to tooting broadway and get the bus from there.

frankly i think you're better off commuting to purley. just be london savy and make sure that the commute has as few parts as possible - ie. focus on the journey with the fewest changes rather than the journey of the 'theoreticly' shortest time. i think if you live too far 'out' you risk becoming morose and isolated. and no offence, but your work colleagues, the majority will be older than you and married/stuck in a rut, it's better to rely on friends.

[Tomkat]

Thanks Steven...

Is Stockwell "nice" then? I really know next to nothing about London or the areas - I have only been to a few places. Doing a bit of brief research, Stockwell seems to be a bit more expensive for me (teachers starting salary, remember!).

I might do a little bit of "field research" on Saturday and take a look at these places.

[Ste]

CROYDON! (and if you live in my area the stabbings are minimal. 15 min walk to station, 5 min train journey.)
purley is literally the next stop on the train.
You know you want to.

Also there is a train about every 5 mins to London Bridge. takes 15 mins.

Oh and you 'll know someone living there...

[Yahwe]

Originally Posted by Tomkat

Thanks Steven...

Is Stockwell "nice" then? I really know next to nothing about London or the areas - I have only been to a few places. Doing a bit of brief research, Stockwell seems to be a bit more expensive for me (teachers starting salary, remember!).

I might do a little bit of "field research" on Saturday and take a look at these places.

london's a working living city.

only mayfair, chelsea and kensington are actually nice. (i should add bloomsbury since i've just bought there, but it is too small to count as an 'area' really)

stockwell is perfectly lovely. you'll get the same as all south london. victorian terrace townhouses intermingled with ghastly 60s estates (where the bombs fell). there aren't really 'safe' or 'unsafe' areas. there are just places within all areas which are more dimly lit and more prone to crime.

in clapham it's the common.

it would actually make sense to chose croydon so you are near ste (he's not that bad really.) i never know how it is for you lot. oxbridge migrates to london. we all live there. we all work there. so i don't 'loose' my friends from college (not without effort anyway). but if you have a good bunch in clapham i'd live near them if i were you.

i don't want you turning into a working automaton. friends are essential. if nothing else, stay close to them.

[s|k]

Originally Posted by Ste

in my area the stabbings are minimal

Quoted for humor.

[Ugly Monkey]

Crystal Palace and Sydenham aren't too bad and I think prices aren't too high. There are good transport links to Croydon and Purley and I think there are plans for the Tramlink to be extended to Crystal Palace at some point in the future.

As for Croydon, the south part is the most 'livable' but also the most expensive and with less shared accomodation. Stay clear of Thornton Heath - it's not very nice at all!

[Blastoderm]

If you do choose Stockwell, be careful. I know someone whose gang will attempt to rob anyone.

Oh and also try not to look Brazilian if you're in Stockwell...

[Yahwe]

scaremonger

[Blastoderm]

Originally Posted by Yahwe

scaremonger

Hey, just looking out for the guy!

[Yahwe]

was I not?

[Blastoderm]

Originally Posted by Yahwe

was I not?

Just a little bit.

[CrashTester]

South London, in general, is a bit of a shite hole. So just choose a place as near to work as possible with good links into London.

[Dante Hicks]

A commute from Tooting to Purley by bus could be rather tedious (I suspect you'd be better off getting the bus to Balham and then getting the train). Other than that, Tooting is a fine enough area - plenty of good Indian restaurants I'm told. As Yahwe says, it's a little dull.

Streatham in general isn't particularly great although it has reasonable transport links (multiple train stations). As with most of these areas it depends on what part you're talking about. Streatham Common has some nice houses around it, but the Common itself is bland and uninteresting (except the Rookery perhaps, but that's mainly for old people or families).

As for Purley - it's up to you. It's expensive because there are a fair number of reasonably wealthy people who seem to want to live there (I think at one point it had one of the richest post-codes in the country here based on mean income or something like that) - but it's an awful place for young people to live. The train service into London is OK (although as already mentioned, relying on them can be a pain) but you have no conception of tedium until you've had to get the Night Bus from Central London to Purley. No-one whose anyone wants to go home before the last train so you'll need to rely on the Night Buses or Cabs at some point. That far out is a nightmare in that regard. Of course, if you don't plan on going out more centrally then it's fine.

Croydon isn't particularly dangerous - as mentioned in earlier threads it's gained a bit of a reputation recently, but it's certainly not more dangerous than Stockwell, Camberwell (where I live) or Lewisham.

If you can afford Clapham, go for it - especially if you've got contacts there.

Don't rule out other places - West Norwood isn't that bad and is pretty cheap. Beckenham (in Bromley) is also nice in a suburban sort of way (could be a bit pricey though) and has a tram link to Croydon.

Overall : Go for the place with best train services + where you know people. I wouldn't get too enamoured by how "good" an area sounds / is supposed to be. Pretty much anywhere in London you'll be a couple of miles from both a terrible council estate and a row of million pound houses. And estate agents tend to mislead a bit when giving locations anyway (so if you're close to both Peckham and Dulwich they'll overstate the latter and ignore the former).

Finally - try giving various housing associations a call (see yellow pages). Quite a few in South London are offering key worker accomodation which you might be eligible for as a teacher. They're generally quite cheap (compared to private renting) and reasonably well maintained.

[Blastoderm]

Originally Posted by Dante Hicks

Croydon isn't particularly dangerous - as mentioned in earlier threads it's gained a bit of a reputation recently, but it's certainly not more dangerous than Stockwell, Camberwell (where I live) or Lewisham.

Quoted for truth.

[Tomkat]

Originally Posted by Dante Hicks

Finally - try giving various housing associations a call (see yellow pages). Quite a few in South London are offering key worker accomodation which you might be eligible for as a teacher. They're generally quite cheap (compared to private renting) and reasonably well maintained.

Thanks a lot for your help Dante.

That last paragraph interested me - noone has mentioned key worker accommodation to me, so I assumed I wasn't eligible. I might have to find out about that...

I see what you mean about people saying an area is "good" - it seems that most of these places are 5-10 minutes from each other anyway, so it's hardly a great trek to get from one to another.

The price is probably going to be a big factor - and the housemates I live with.

Thanks for the help guys - I'll keep you updated

[Dante Hicks]

Oh, one other thing you'll want to consider is the cost of transportation. It can be quite a bit.

If you live within Bus distance then you'll be able to make do with a monthly bus pass for £42. For a Zone 2-6 Travelcard (necessary if you lived in say, Stockwell) then it'd be £97. For Clapham (Zone 3) it'd be £85. If you just needed Zone 5-6 then it'd £50.

edit : My apologies, my brain was not turned on for this post. Clapham (excluding Clapham South) is in Zone 2, therefore the above info is incorrect, and Clapham would have the same costs as Stockwell.

[Yahwe]

key worker accomodation didn't even cross my mind. but you must look into it.

dante don't you work for a housing ascotiation or a local council?

how does it work? and can't you pull some strings/support this dedicated young man who's sole motivation is the education of our dear children?

i'm basicly saying, can't you get someone to give him money? you know. the way i would do it wouldn't work - take him to parties and make sure he 'spoke properly' and knew how to eat. because rich chelsea-ites wouldn't help him. but there must be a similar method for getting money out of councils??

can't you do something?

[Dante Hicks]

Originally Posted by Yahwe

dante don't you work for a housing ascotiation or a local council?

I do indeed, but all our accomodation is no-where near anywhere useful.

But each scheme varies of ours but they're all designed for student doctors and nurses (for instance for Farnborough Hospital in Orpington). However, I remember that when we were letting out one of the blocks we also accepted applications from teachers in the area, firemen, policemen, that sort of thing. For other schemes (we provide housing for Kings College Hospital & the Maudsley in Southwark) the whole place is let directly to the hospital and they do the allocation and I don't believe any other professions are "allowed".

However, as I say, it's worth giving housing associations / the council a ring and asking them the situation in Croydon. His school may be able to provide some info - they should have some experience in these matters.